African football chief will ‘respect’ CAS decision on AFCON final row
‘I will respect and implement the CAS decision,’ Patrice Motsepe says amid turbulent times in African football.
Confederation of African Football (CAF) President Patrice Motsepe says he will “respect” the decision by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) on Senegal’s appeal against being stripped of their Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title. “I will respect and implement the CAS decision. My personal opinion regarding the matter is irrelevant,” Motsepe told reporters in Cairo on Sunday.
The Senegal appeal came after the CAF appeals body overturned a 1-0 win by Senegal over hosts Morocco in the AFCON final last month. Many Senegalese players, head coach Pape Thiaw, and his staff walked off the pitch in Rabat after Morocco were awarded an added-time penalty. After they returned, Morocco’s Brahim Diaz missed the penalty.
And Senegal’s Pape Gueye scored in extra time to win the title decider. A CAF disciplinary committee later fined various figures from both teams, but did not alter the result. Morocco then appealed, and were awarded a 3-0 victory.
Motsepe stressed that the appeal board consists of independent judges and lawyers. When Senegal played Peru in a 2026 World Cup warm-up in Paris on Saturday, they paraded the Cup of Nations trophy. Senegal then played in shirts with two stars – one for their first Cup of Nations triumph in 2022 and the other for their disputed February victory.